


Stay By My Side

by BeesMakeMeVeryHappy, Knight_Of_Breath



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: #nibling send help, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Juno can cook, M/M, Rita knows the vent layout, So does Peter, be gay do crimes, jet is a great friend, juno is a disaster bi, my aunt made me write this while she made pasta sauce, peter cries, rita can not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 03:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18160859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeesMakeMeVeryHappy/pseuds/BeesMakeMeVeryHappy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knight_Of_Breath/pseuds/Knight_Of_Breath
Summary: “Peter.” He says again, repeating like a mantra, a prayer. As if Peter is as divine as the goddess Juno was named after. He sounds reverent, like a man in his last minutes, reaching out to the God that he believed in more than himself.--The be gay do crimes gangfeaturing: Peter and Juno's emotional issues, a lot of crying, and Rita not knowing how to cook.





	Stay By My Side

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, they got their pasta.   
> ~KoB

There he is. Peter Nureyev. The man Juno left all that time ago, here. 

“Hello Juno, it’s been a while.” He says, with all of the suave tones he had from the last time they saw each other. 

“Pe-Nur-ack!” Shit! Do they know his real name? How would they? He takes a moment to collect himself. 

“It’s okay, I don’t expect you to remember my name.” Peter adds with a hint of salt. 

“Mistah Glass! What’re you doing here?” She pauses to gasp. “Were you a criminal this entire time? Are you why Mistah Steel was all lovestruck and depressed these past few months? This is just like It Came from the Peanut Fields where there were a bunch’a murders took place and two officers were supposed to take the case, but then halfway in they find out one of the officers is the murderer. But the other officer was already too far gone, so he went along with these murders until the officer ended up killing the murderer in a freak peanut butter accident! Which just so happens to parallel their entire relationship being crushed.” 

There’s a pause, then Jet cuts in, “I remember that one! It is a prequel to Peanut Butter Demons where the murderer possesses the jars of peanut butter made with his corpse.” Rita immediately lights up, continuing her rant. 

Everyone stares blankly as Jet and Rita start talking about the different possible pairings and unfinished plots from the movies.

Buddy stares at Juno. “This is my associate, Elvira Quill. But I see you two already know each other..?” She looks between the two, a calculating stare on her features. 

Juno nods. “W-we had met. I-” He doesn't know what to say. What could he say that would ever make up for what he did? Nothing. And that's the problem. Peter will probably never let him forget what he did, not like Juno hasn't been beating himself up for it. He looks back up into Peter's eyes, and god. He's still so...beautiful. His eyes are just as bright as when he last saw him, if a little sadder. His grin coy and seductive, with a fear of rejection hiding underneath. He gets closer to Nureyev — and he can smell the same perfume that made him swoon all those months ago. It makes him swoon now. 

“I look forward to working with you again, Mr. Quill.” Juno says, looking up with an expression he hopes conveys how much he means it. Peter's smile falters for a brief moment. 

“Please, call me Elvira.” Peter says with a grin, a real, toothy grin. Juno can feel the heat rising on his face as he stares. He nods dumbly, and Juno knows Peter is laughing at him on the inside. 

As they walk into the ship, Vespa — who was hanging off of Buddy, not bothering in conversation — finger guns at Juno. Juno manages a small smirk in response. Buddy and Jet are quick to show the two new recruits to their room. Juno’s and Rita’s are right next to each other, with Peter just across the hall. 

After a quick tour Buddy clasps her hands together. “And that concludes our tour. You both should probably get some rest. We’ll do the rest in the morning.” Vespa is right beside her as she walks away, whispering something in Buddy’s ear. Judging by the soft flush spread across Buddy’s face as she laughs, it wasn’t the most appropriate. Peter’s eye catches Juno’s as they enter their separate rooms, a hint of a smirk playing across his lips. Juno is a disaster bi. He has accepted it. The smirk makes his heart do all kinds of funny things. And the worst part — Peter knows exactly what he’s doing to him.

Juno decides the best course of action is to just try to sleep. Of course, even something as simple as that couldn’t go right; he ends up sitting in bed for a couple hours, thinking. Finally, he’s tired — in more ways than one. But his brain and throat are itching. 

He starts to fall asleep, but moments from sleep the itch in his throat intensifies until he can’t ignore it anymore. It’s been hours since he drank some water, and the need for water outweighs his need for sleep. He finally decides to go get a glass of water. 

He’s lost. He has been wandering the halls for some time now, and at this point, he doesn’t even know how to get back to his room.

There was nothing else he could do. He’s so tired. Juno leans against a wall, sighing deeply. Of course he’d get lost just trying to get a glass of water. What was he thinking! He didn’t even know where the kitchen was yet. He puts his head in his hands as he despairs. He’d even tried backtracking to his room, but he couldn’t even find that. What kind of private eye is bad with directions? Juno is ready to just fall asleep on the floor, resigning himself to waiting until Rita or someone comes to find him. Although, he doesn’t have to wait that long. 

“Juno..?” A soft voice whispers, heavy with sleep and concern. Juno tenses immediately at the voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. He processes several things at once, ready to fight. Once he realizes, he attempts to slump back down as if he wasn’t shocked in the first place. Juno doesn’t want to look at the source of the voice. He doesn’t want to face that. But he was never one to get what he wants. Juno looks up directly into those deep violet eyes. They’re clouded over with something akin to concern. “Are you alright?” 

Juno blinks up at him. “I’m doing fine, how are you?” 

“I’m… fine. What are you doing? Are you lost?” 

Juno looks back at him with a forced smile. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve decided I want to just sit in the hall for no reason!”

Peter gives him a disbelieving look and says, “then I’m sure you won’t protest to my joining you? I’m finding that sleep doesn’t want to join me just yet.”

“... I don’t know if I’m the best company, but if you want to...” Juno trails off, shrugging. Peter nods, and the two slowly sink to the ground, because why the hell not. 

The two sit in a tense and sullen silence for a full minute, before Juno inhales sharply. “Listen, Nureyev…”

“Yes?” Peter looks up at Juno expectantly. 

Juno looks into those eyes, watching as something starts to stir in the back of them. “I’m… sorry for leaving. I just- I-” Peter cuts him off with a raised hand. 

“You don’t need to explain yourself, Juno.” Peter says, eyes downcast. “I understand why you left. I just- I wish … I wish you would have told me you didn’t want to be with me.” The crack in his voice at the end is almost unnoticeable. Almost.

Juno stares, shell shocked as he takes in what he just heard. “Nur-” He pauses, realizing that isn’t the right word. “Peter..” Juno amends, watching Peter’s eyes as they hesitantly meet his, still shining with unshed tears. Those deep violet orbs fall back to the floor quickly, the tears refusing to follow. “I didn’t leave because of you. I left because- because- I couldn't leave Hyperion. I wasn’t ready. I wanted-” He pauses, tears flowing as he recalls that night. “-I wanted to stay with you so, so badly. But I couldn’t. That minute in the doorway was the longest minute of my life. And I know that I can never make it up to you Peter. But I am so sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you.”

Peter’s eyes close as the tears slide down his face, coming faster as time goes on and he starts sobbing quietly. His shoulders shake as the sobs wrack his body, and Juno leans in to give him to give gentle hug when he begins to curl into himself. Juno hesitates a little, worried about overstepping his boundaries, but Peter looks at Juno with something akin to relief and hope in his eyes. He whispers a pleading “Juno.” 

Fuck hesitation. Juno pulls the sobbing man close to him, holding him tightly. “Peter.” He mumbles into the younger man's hair. “Peter.” He mumbles again, when Peter pulls him tighter. “Peter.” He continues repeating like a mantra, a prayer. As if Peter is as divine as the goddess Juno was named after. He sounds reverent, like a man in his last minutes, reaching out to the God that he believed in more than himself. 

Juno pulls Peter into his lap as he feels the man in his arms relax. He brings his legs up to be on either side of the younger man before relaxing against the wall. He just wanted a fucking glass of water, but he got a lot more than he expected. They both sit there, basking in each other's embrace for what feels like both an hour and only a few seconds. 

Juno is the first to break the embrace, releasing Peter from his grip and fighting the urge to chase Peter as he backs away.  
“Peter-” He begins, before being interrupted by a voice yelling down the hall from their place on the floor.   
“Mistah Steel? Agent Mistah Quill Glass? What’re you guys doing in the hall at three in the morning?”

Peter tenses up, Juno quickly scooting back. “What are YOU doing up Rita?! You know how you get after an all nighter.” 

Rita pauses. “Actually that's you Mistah Steel. But I was watching some of my shows when I heard a weird noise, so I ran through the hallways until I couldn’t hear it anymore, but then I saw a big lump and now I’m here!” 

Peter looks up, seeming to have composed himself. “That was probably Buddy and Vespa, their room shares a vent with yours.” Rita and Juno both blush a little when they remember the interaction for earlier. Peter continues speaking after allowing that thought to sink in a little. “How about we move to the kitchen to get some refreshments, if we aren’t going back to our rooms yet?” As he starts to get up, Juno frowns at the loss of Peter leaning against him, his eyebrows pulling in and his eyes downcast. 

Too tired to join them, Rita leaves after Peter explains how to get back to her room. Soon, Juno is following Peter around a corner and through a door he hadn’t noticed before. 

Juno sits silently in the chair Peter indicates as Peter fiddles around with two glasses, a plate, a bottle of a clear liquid that is either water or vodka, and a bag of cookies. 

Peter places the cookies on the plate and hands Juno a glass. And, with as much grace as usual, slides onto the counter next to Juno. Juno clears his throat awkwardly. “I just… look, Peter, I'm sorry and I know you shouldn't listen, but please hear me out.”

Peter meets Juno’s gaze with a softer look than Juno believes he deserves. “Maybe tomorrow, Juno. At this point, I'm tired of talking things out.” And with that, he grabs Juno by his lapels and kisses him softly. The kiss is over in a second, and Peter goes to leave, the cookies and water/vodka forgotten. 

Juno's mind is reeling as he watches Peter walk out of the room. Once his brain catches up with what just happened, he jumps out of his chair, knocking over his long sought after glass of water. “Damn it” he mutters as he races after Peter, who — despite having seemingly not sped up since leaving the room — has somehow gotten to the end of the hall already. “Wait P-“ as he turns the corner, Juno almost trips. 

Over what, you may be asking? Over a pile made up of Peter and Jet, who collided and fell moments before he got there. Juno watches as the two untangled their limbs and stand up unceremoniously. 

Juno looks at Jet, feeling really tired of interruptions. “What are YOU doing awake at four thirty in the morning!?” he asks, perplexed.  
Jet looks at him, slightly confused, “I’m looking for Rita. She said she wanted to marathon ‘Oops I married an Earthling Gang Leader’, but never gave me a time. She sent me a message an hour ago saying she was awake, but she wasn’t in her room.”

A loud thump startles Juno as a panel on the ceiling opens and Rita’s head pops out. “Did someone say Rita!?!” she says excitedly, rolling her R excessively. She hops down onto the floor, directly in front of Jet. Juno stares blankly as Rita and Jet start walking down the hallway, chattering about the streams they have in common. 

Juno snorts, amused at the two's antics. Then he turns back to Peter. “What if I don't want to talk either? What if I just want to listen.” Peter looks down at him, his eyes shining with something Juno can't quite place. Peter raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't respond. 

In the silence they hear two feminine voices intermingling with each other in a way that the two should not be able to hear. Especially because they are doing some explicit things. Peter stifles his laughter at Juno's scandalized and disgusted expression. 

“Well detective, why don't you come to my room. You can't hear them from in there. Your room, however has ample hearing to what they're doing.” Juno grimaces, following Peter. 

They walk to the room in silence, Peter glancing behind him to meet Juno's eyes. Peter opens his door and side-steps for Juno to enter first. He does, feeling a little awkward. The room is fairly plain, with not much more than a few trinkets on his bedside table and a lot of things under his bed. That's all Juno can see before he is pinned to the wall with soft lips on his own. He tenses for a moment before relaxing under the assault, luxuriating in the feeling of lips he hasn’t felt in over a year.

They continue to kiss for several heartbeats before Juno remembers one of the reasons he followed Peter to his room in the first place. Quickly breaking away, he pulls back enough to look at Peter’s face. 

“Peter-” he manages to get one word out before Peter presses in close, pushing their foreheads together.

“Juno.” he responds, looking down at the thirty-nine-year-old. Juno melts under the emotions in those violet eyes. Feeling like speaking would ruin the gentle air about them, Juno leans in and buries his face in Peter’s neck. The two stand like this for a minute before Juno speaks again.

“Peter ... I'm not the same person I was. And I doubt you're the same person. But you’re still,” He pauses, not wanting to say the wrong thing, “You’re still the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.” 

Juno inhales deeply, waiting for a response. The two look at each other for a moment, Juno trying to tell what Peter was thinking, but his face is too blank. Peter inhales sharply and quietly.

He’s trying not to cry, Juno realizes. Juno drags the younger man down to his level, pulling his head onto Juno’s shoulder. 

He tries to be as reassuring as possible as he pets Peter’s back awkwardly. This seems to be Peter’s breaking point, because a broken sob escapes his lips as he collapses against Juno. 

Juno doesn't know how to comfort people, but he wraps both of his arms around Peter tightly. Peter sobs harshly, leaning onto Juno. Juno runs one of his hands through Peter’s hair, letting him cry it out. They stay there for a few minutes, until Peter’s breathing evens and the sobs slow. 

Peter doesn’t move for a minute. “I thought you left because of me.” He mumbles into the crook of Juno’s neck. Juno feels pain race through his body as he processes those words. “I didn’t leave because of you Peter…. I could never…” Peter inhales sharply. “I don’t-I just-Juno. You’re a fool.” Juno huffs out a soft laugh. “I really must be… I can only hope that you still are as well.” Juno finishes as he smiles hesitantly at Peter. “I….suppose that makes two of us, detective.”

Juno’s breath catches in his throat. He can barely believe any of this is actually real. But then Peter presses his lips to Juno’s again, and he knows this can’t be anything but real. The familiar scent of cologne, the soft yet firm lips, his tongue. All of it too good to be true, but also too real to be fake. He has missed this so much. Juno melts into the kiss, arms coming up to thread into Peter’s hair, reveling in the softness of it. The two stay there, kissing languidly, exhaustion from all of the emotions setting in. 

When the two part, they are panting gently. “Would you like to stay Juno….?” 

It’s more of a plea than a question. A plea for Juno to not abandon him again, a plea to start over. And Juno? Juno is more than happy to accept. He nods sharply, and a small, hesitant smile appears on Peter’s face. Juno may have not been ready the last time they were together, but now, gazing into Peter’s hopeful eyes, he is more ready than he has ever been in his life. 

Peter walks over to the bed and sits down, holding his arms out in invitation to Juno. Juno all but collapses into Peter’s arms, curling up next to him. The two settle into a comfortable silence until they fall asleep. They stayed there for four hours until — CRASH!

The two jolt awake as something crashes into the room from above, Peter holding the knife from under his pillow and Juno reaching for a blaster he left in his room. 

“Mistah Steel? Agent Mistah Quill Glass? Why are you guys in the kitchen?” Rita blinks at them from the floor before looking around. “This isn’t the kitchen! I thought that was the right vent!” Rita jumps up as the two look at her tiredly. “You took a right turn at the fork where you should have taken a left, Rita dear.” Peter mumbles from where his head flopped back into the pillow.   
“Ohhhh” Rita turns in the direction of the door “I thought I took a wrong turn somewhere. Oh well, it’s time for breakfast!” She pumps her fist in the air before turning on the light and pulling the blanket off the bed. Juno groans as the cool air hits him at the same time as the light. Peter makes no noise, as he’s fallen back asleep. Juno’s eye widens as Rita launches herself onto Peter. 

Juno barely manages to launch himself off of the bed. Peter, however, is not as lucky and is jolted awake by Rita landing on top of him. Juno can see Peter grab his knife and just barely pause before he would stab her. Rita didn’t seem to notice. “It’s time to wake up Agent Mistah Quill Glass!” 

Peter glares at her, in spite of his normal charismatic nature. He must not be much of a morning person. “Miss Rita, you must understand my name is not actually Glass. It would be much easier for you to just call me Quill.” 

Rita levels him with a look. “Yeah, but how am I supposed to know if you’re not lying? Glass could be your real name, but we’ll never know! If I’ve learned anything by watching all of those TV shows, it’s to never trust nobody that lies to you!”

Peter sighs, “That is a double negative-it means you can trust somebody.”

“But why should I trust you!” 

Juno frowns at the display. He needs a diversion. “Rita, I need some breakfast. Do you want to come with me?” Rita immediately drops the conversation with Peter, much to Juno’s relief. 

Then the three of them make their way to the kitchen, only to find Buddy and Vespa already in there. Both of them have hickies littered all over their necks, shoulders, and who knows where else. Jet is by the stove, stirring something in a pan while a pot of some sauce bubbles next to him. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Juno can see Rita light up. “Ooh! Jet! Can I help?” Jet turns around, about to nod. But Juno, who is behind Rita, is shaking his head vigorously. Jet raises an eyebrow. Juno’s face scrunches as he mouths ‘no’ repeatedly. “You can help me with the sauce. Just stir it.”

Rita grins brightly and all of the color drains from Juno’s face. Shit. Peter gives him a questioning look, but he is resigned to his fate. Rita does her job, kinda. After a few minutes, she reaches into the cabinet while Jet is mixing the pancake batter. Juno watches Peter’s face shift into a horrified expression when she adds some whole peppercorns and curry powder. No one else besides the two of them saw this take place. It’s too late for them. Juno is already planning his escape. 

The two watch as Jet finishes the batter and puts on another pan to cook it in, oblivious to the events that just took place. Rita starts humming cheerfully as she stirs, and Jet pours pancakes into the pan. He looks away again, stirring the pancake batter, and Rita reaches into the cabinet, getting out the paprika and adding some to the sauce as she continues to hum. Juno watches Peter’s face pale. Buddy and Vespa are still unaware of the events taking place as they are whispering among themselves. 

Jet finishes with the batter and flips the first pancake. He turns to get more eggs from the fridge as he dumps the ones from the pan he was stirring onto a plate. That was a mistake, while he was getting the eggs, Rita reached into the cabinet grabbing soy sauce and dumping the whole bottle into the sauce, darkening the color. At this point Buddy has noticed something’s off, but hasn’t figured out what, as Rita has already put away the empty bottle. 

Juno is now enjoying this. He watches with delight as Jet has finished making all of the food, putting it onto separate plates. “Does everyone want some of my Strawberry-maple reduction?” Everyone says their affirmatives, besides Juno and Peter. Peter was quick to make up an excuse. “I’m Allergic to strawberries.” While Juno immediately went into grumpy detective mode. “No thanks. Not in the mood for sweets.” 

Jet sighs but leaves it off of the other two plates. Juno exhales in relief, taking a bite of the pancakes. They’re amazing, even though they would’ve been better with the syrup. The two watch Rita take a bite and grin. “Wow! This is amazing!!” 

Jet smiles. “Thank you Rita.” Buddy and Vespa are the next to take a bite of the mixture. They both pause the moment it hits their tongue. Buddy’s face takes on a green tint as she struggles to swallow it. Vespa coughs violently, almost spitting it out. She scrambles up out of her seat, making a run for the bathroom. 

Juno is struggling to contain his laughter as Jet finally eats his pancakes. His energy visibly dims and his face contorts. Juno has to cough to cover up his laughter. He did warn them. Rita notices Juno’s cough. “Are you alright Mistah Steel?” 

He nods, fighting a grin. Peter has no such qualms and is grinning unabashedly next to him. Buddy noticed their looks and her facial expression turns dark. “You two knew about this, didn’t you.” She states, rather than asks, glaring at them. Juno nods, finally breaking into quiet giggles. Peter keeps his cool. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Buddy, these pancakes taste fine to me.” Buddy glares and Rita stares at Juno. 

“I don’t know why you’re giggling so much Mistah Steel, but it’s SO CUTE!” Rita launches herself from her seat to hug him even as Juno tries to avoid it, a red hue tinting his face. Juno relaxes into his chair, knowing there’s no point in trying to get away now that he’s been caught. Rita’s squealing into his ear, as Peter explains to the newly-returned Vespa what happened. ‘Yeah,’ Juno thinks as he watches everyone’s faces pale “I did try to warn you about her earlier.”

“I don’t know what you mean Mistah Steel! Warn them about what?” Rita pulls back to look at him with scrunched up eyebrows. “Nothing Rita.” He says as Peter takes his hand and the others start talking over each other vociferously protesting Juno’s comment. Juno sighs, no longer finding this amusing. 

“I’ll fix it.” He says, standing sharply, gaining the others’ attention. He walks into the kitchen, grabbing out a whole bunch of different ingredients. They all watch as he begins combining different berries into a pot with some sugar and maple syrup. He cooks it down until the berries are significantly coated. He then blends it together and shifts it through a tea strainer to get all of the seeds out. He then takes the extra pancakes and puts the sauce on them before giving them to the people at the table. 

Everyone at the table seems hesitant, besides Rita, who immediately begins scarfing it down. Peter stares at Juno for a second, not knowing whether or not to trust it. Juno probably only eats takeout from D class restaurants. Nevertheless, someone’s gotta do it. And that someone is Peter. He takes a quick bite, ready for the worst. Peter, however, got the best. His eyes widen, and the other three look at him expectantly. 

“This is…..Why, this is wonderful detective.” The corners of Juno’s lips quirk upward, in a pleased smirk. Then, the other three try it, pleasantly surprised with the results. “Why, Juno, I didn’t know you could cook.” Buddy adds. Juno blushes a little at the praise. “it isn’t that good…” the former detective mumbles before continuing. “Anyways, with how I grew up, I had to learn how to take care of myself.” At his words the rooms fell into an awkward and heavy silence. 

Peter coughs awkwardly. “Well, I think we can all agree that this is an amazing meal.” They all nod in agreement, still eating the pancakes. As Rita stands up, they all watch as she walks over to the pot of reduction. She then scoops up some of the reduction, plopping it onto her plate, then sits down at the table and starts eating it with a spoon. The sound of a chair scraping across the floor makes Juno, Peter, Buddy, and Vespa look up as Jet stands and mimics Rita’s actions. When he notices the staring, he just says “it still tastes good plain.” and continues eating. They all finish their food quickly. 

After breakfast they lead the gang into a room with a projector. “Alright.” Buddy says, placing a map under the projector. “To welcome the new recruits, we’ll start with something easy.” Peter grabs Juno’s hand under the table as Buddy goes into the explicit details of the plan. Juno listens and relaxes into the new life he’s starting with his thief.


End file.
